7. Using Quantum GIS (version 1.8.0.)

This section provides a brief hands-on tutorial as an introduction to
Quantum GIS (QGIS) and shows examples of how open source GIS can be used
instead of proprietary software for the same research applications as
demonstrated in the previous chapter. QGIS is licensed under the GNU General
Public License (http://www.gnu.org) and is an official project of the Open
Source Geospatial Foundation (http://www.osgeo.org). This tutorial is based on QGIS version
1.8.0. “Lisboa” that was the latest stable release at the end of 2012 and runs
on the 64-bit Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. Detailed information about
QGIS, its functionalities, and the installation procedure on different
platforms is well documented on the project website (http://www.qgis.org) and in the manual to version 1.8.0
(QGIS Development Team, 2013).